How Reading Can Boost Creativity

We’re all aware of the main advantages of diving into a good book – it stimulates the mind, reduces stress and improves focus and concentration. Yet despite such benefits, the activity often gets pushed to the back of our list of priorities, whether it be due to the frenzied nature of day-to-day life or the allure of a night spent mindlessly scrolling the Netflix menus.

Whilst we all love watching the latest episode of Stranger Things, we should never lose sight of the joys of reading. Many of us spend endless hours browsing news sites, social media and blog posts (and the distractions that come with online browsing), but screen-based reading (e-readers aside) doesn’t quite live up to the uninterrupted escapism of an actual book. And it’s important to be aware of another great benefit that reading a book can have over other recreational activities: it is good for boosting creativity.

Words are inspiring. They tap into our imagination, bringing new worlds to life and offering fresh viewpoints that we otherwise may not have entertained. Whether fact or fiction, books often present us with various problems and obstacles. Observing how such problems are resolved offers us fresh perspectives which we can take out into the world with us. These new perspectives can result in an open-mindedness that can be applied to our creative sides – a benefit which has been backed up by research.

According to a 2013 study by researchers from the University of Toronto, it is believed that regular reading sessions result in the mind eventually programming itself to think in a creative way, bringing with it ‘less rigid thinking’. Interestingly, the study suggested that literary fiction readers are especially creative and more likely to exercise better judgement.

With the above in mind, perhaps it’s worth logging out of Netflix for the night and trading screen glare for the escapism of a good old-fashioned storybook? Who knows, maybe it will help you tap into your creative side...